57 comments:

Oh goody! Looks like I am the first one to join you...unless someone hits publish before me that is! I am in LOVE with the bike and wood box!!! So stinkin' adorable! I love both fireplace vignettes but number 2 is my fave. I like the gate on the mantel best! I am loving your adorable flower covered bench on the porch as well. Your home is so bright and cheery...and welcoming! Have a wonderfully blessed weekend! My daughter is on her way home and I haven't seen her since Mother's Day...woo! hoo! One happy Mama here...:)

Hi Vicky, I am sure that you are excited to see her and that the two of you will be talking, laughing and catching up all weekend. It tickles me that there doesn't seem to be a generation gap between us in style and decor. Maybe in years . . . I know that I end my posts with, "your blogging sister", but could say Momma or Grandma, LOL. Well, it is 101 degree here . . . I'm headed outside to mow grass, with breaks in the Old Geezer Swimming Hole. Have a great weekend.Your blogging sister (there I go again)Connie :)

LOL...I have friends of all ages....some 30 years younger and some 30 years older! I love them all! We are all women, right? Hope you didn't heat to death mowing...but at least you can cool off in the swimming hole! LOL! :) Hugs, Vicky

I love the box! I can't imagine being able to build such a neat box from wood scraps. It looks like an OLD wooden box. I've been looking at your older posts and amazed at the things you have created and built and painted. The Old Geezer Swimming Hole is perfect! You are very talented. We have a little something else in common...Goodwill! My favorite shopping spot ever! :) You make me want to pull out my old cowboy hat and wear it. Hope you have a nice weekend. Oh, I like the "after" picture best too. The ship really stands out there.

Hi Henny, reading your comment truly touched my heart. I have found through my blogging experience so many other women with common interests and I absolutely love sharing ideas with them. For every idea that I share I get back tenfold . . . That's one of the great things about blogging. We all want to create the happiest and most comfortable homes that we can and many of us are on tight budgets. I have never been one to waste, so wood scraps, fabric scraps, and left overs and left behinds, are of great value. I love Goodwill. Just last week I found a chair that I have been looking for, for at least three years. There is a thrill to that kind of find, that I know it is much more exciting than purchasing new. I have a question for you . . . are your sunbonnets adult size or children? I love them . . . my grandma always wore one in the summer. One for everyday and a newer one for Sundays. Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting. Have a lovely weekend.

Thank you, I have been wanting to do this for quite a while . . . Our weather is hot and dry and at the moment we are having a heat wave. Today it was 101 and it is suppose to reach 105 tomorrow. So, I hope that I can keep my box and bike basket watered enough to make up for the heat.

Hi Louise, I have seen one of those somewhere . . . I'm thinking it may have been the same place that I saw the idea of cowboy boots as planters, like on my gate. I love that you bought yourself a drill . . . they are one of the handiest tools ever. I hope that you post photos of your dragonfly, because I'm very excited to see it:) Here's to women with their own tools and to Girl Power, LOL

Your bike looks great. I'm curious how you attached the box though. Is it just balanced on the tire?I like your after arrangement for your summer mantel. The before was nice but I like the arrangement of the after a little better

Hi Ann, I have a wonderful neighbor. That white background is his RV barn and it boarders our yard. He said that I could hang anything on it that I wanted and that putting screws into it wouldn't be a problem. So, I screwed a short piece of 2X4 onto his barn and then screwed the bottom of my box to it, plus another through the box and into the barn. It is very secure :)

Hi Carol, Our Walmart was two sections with crafts. One is more geared to children and then over by the beads and craft paints there is a small section of stencils. I was delighted to find this one and will probably use it again on other things. I would love to sit on the porch with you, I think we could talk for hours :)

I just love you Connie! You seem to have so much energy and you're so creative. I love the stencil you found and how good it looks on the box. The bike is wonderful! I think both fireplaces look good but I agree the 2nd one looks less busy. Love your porch! Wish I could stop by and have some tea with ya!I don't have any new posts up. Been so busy lately. When I saw you on my dashboard, I had to pop in and visit. Hope you have a great weekend!

Hi Sherry, this is a busy time of the year. I always thought that summers were suppose to be laid-back and lazy, but I think that is just for kids, LOL. My garden is growing, but so are my weeds. Wouldn't be be nice to have a full day of laying in the hammock and sipping tea. I am so delighted that you squeezed in a few minutes to pop over and visit . . . I treasure your blogging friendship. Have a lovely weekend:)

Hi Connie. Oh, the box is darling. Great job! You are so clever. And I like the bike turquoise. And definitely "after"for the fireplace.Three digits, eh? It's on the cool side here. I prefer cooler temps. Hope you have a splendid weekend. Susan

Hi Susan, yes, today it was 101 and the temperature is suppose to get up to 105 tomorrow. I liked the heat when I was younger, but now it drains me of energy and I'm the kind of gal that likes to be moving and doing things. I made the mistake of getting in my car yesterday afternoon with shorts on . . . I have charcoal grey leather upholstery, it was like sitting on a stove burner. My hubby and his friend are building a boat in the garage, so my car has been kicked out, LOL I will have to do a post on their boat. It is a cedar strip canoe. Thanks for stopping by to visit . . . I am delighted that you like my bike and planter box:)

Hi Nancy, thank you :) It was a fun project that I have had in the back of my mind, to do for a long time. I just hope that I can keep those freshly planted flowers alive. It is 101 degrees today and suppose to be 105 tomorrow. I'm thinking that sedum might be a better choice for our climate, than flowers.

Connie I just love what you've done with the box - it looks absolutely authentic! - and the blue bicycle too! As for your summer fireplace, what a cool idea - I have to say I prefer layout #1 but that's just personal preference! At least the stuff is all moveable and you can change it as often as you like. Your wonderful country cottage home is so full of character and I love to see all the different things you do.

Thank you for your lovely comment and I'm glad you like my somewhat mis-proportioned angel!! I am happy to report that I am feeling a lot better today, and after finishing catching up on the computer, I'm going to make up a fabric angel body from the card template I made last night - it may need a bit of tweaking. If successful I shall make up a whole lot so I can embellish them individually.

Hi there . . . well you made it, your comment was posted. I wonder why you were having trouble, but sometimes computers just do and don't do what we want, and then they seem to fix themselves. The world of internet is a mystery to me. I am using rubber snakes and they seem to be working, but the test comes after the grapes start to ripen . . .time will tell :)

It is a great stencil. I was surprised when I saw it at Walmart. I think that Walmart might just be starting to class it up a bit :) I don't know what is happening everywhere else, but our store is also handling a great new line of fabric by Waverly and at a great price:) Have fun shopping:) I hope you post your project.

Hi Connie...I love the after look and I really love that gate!! I really like that stencil that you got from Walmart...it looks great on your wood crate. And that crate looks awesome on your blue bike!! ~Cindy

Hi Connie, you have been one busy gal! lol! The box you made is so fun and I love the stencil. Moss Rose is a perfect choice for your hot weather. I love old gates and the before mantle really hi lites yours. Love it!

Good Morning, it's Sunday morning and I'm waking up with a creamy cup of coffee and a little blogging with my sisters before church. The box was fun to build and stencil . . . The moss roses should do good here . . .we are in the middle of a heat wave that is predicted to last at least two more weeks. Today's prediction is 109 degrees, yesterday we went over their prediction of 106, with a 108 . . . so it's HOT!

The box is a real delight and looks amazing on the bike. You certainly have an eye for detail. I loved the before picture until I saw the after picture and that became my favourite. You have a real talent.

Hello Connie - Trust me to be different; I like the 'before' arrangement on the shelf and the 'after' arrangement on the lower part of the fireplace! The two together would be my choice. However, you have so much style and creative ability that I would never be able to change anything. I have only just found your blog (after seeing a link on another one) and it is now bookmarked so that I don't miss a post. My own blog features my garden and various places in Cornwall UK that I visit with my elderly Border Collie, Zac. Please come and take a look. xx

Welcome! I am always excited to make a new friend. If you were here I would let you rearrange my fireplace again and we could have a third choice to vote on. It's fun to pull things from around the house and tweak this and that to decorate that space. I'm coming over for a visit:)

I would love to join you on your front porch! Though your temperatures don't sound too ideal right now. I'll visit you when it's a little cooler, how's that? ;-) As for your fireplace mantel, I like the "after" better. You are right - a cleaner look. I like the gate on top on the fireplace shelf better than in front of the screen, and the large ship looks perfect there in front of the screen. The box you built and decorated...SO clever! Love how you put it on the back of the bike and filled it with flowers. :-)

Hi Melanie, you are wise to plan your visit for later . . . it was 112 degrees yesterday. I swept the porch Friday morning, thinking that we might want to sit out there on the weekend, but no . . . A/C felt so much better.

Hi Connie, You clever girl. Of course you started with a box (made from scraps ) :) And it looks so cute with the bike. Love the the whole look with the nasturtiums, such happy flowers. I don't know how you are keeping up in all this heat. We have 90 degree temps on the other side of the mountains and with the humidity, we are just wilting. Praise God for fans and box air conditioners. By the way, I do like your second fireplace look the best. I get to feeling overwhelmed if things get too busy looking, although you would never guess that from all the clutter in my house. :)

Hi Gloriade, this weather is really starting to get me down. I've been having a real battle with my little baby pink dogwood tree . . . if I can just keep it alive this summer, I am sure that it will be much stronger next season. This heat is murder on everything, but especial on that little tree. I've started watering late in the evening and trying to conserve water. I would hate to run our well dry . . . having a well is new to us and it is something that I didn't even think about until a few nights ago. It would be terrible to be without water in this heat, or anytime for that matter.

About Me

Hi, my name is Connie and I’m so pleased that you’ve found my blog. I'm a woman of simple pleasures. Like John Denver, "Sunshine makes me happy!" and other things that make me happy are my husband of 41 years, my lovely daughter and my two delightful granddaughters. I have a passion for life and all things creative. Three years ago we purchased a small country home on an acre of land, which for us is huge. Every day brings with it a new adventure. The fixing up, of our little fixer-upper and the mowing of that huge yard is going to give me the exercise and creative projects that I need to stay forever young. I am enjoying my journey, life is good!

Please do not copy or reproduce any photos, art work or written work on my blog. I love sharing, but like to be asked first.All photographs and art work are by me, unless otherwise noted.If you see a craft or greeting card that you want to copy, by that I mean take the idea and run with it, feel free. Crafts are for sharing,but photos and paintings are copyrighted. Thank you.

My welcome mat is always out and I want to thank you for stopping by . . . Please leave a comment so I know who came to visit and so I can reply. I have met so many lovely people through blogging and I am grateful for each and every new friend. Come again, real soon . . . Connie :)